


Death Do Us Part

by nepenthe_writer



Series: WinterIron Bingo [18]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blood and Injury, M/M, Unhappy Ending, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nepenthe_writer/pseuds/nepenthe_writer
Summary: Bucky's ride home to Tony doesn't go as planned and it changes their lives forever





	Death Do Us Part

**Author's Note:**

> Square: G3 - Vampire for the WinterIron Bingo

Light was fading from the sky as day turned to night. Bright colors painted the horizon in a vibrant sunset but Tony didn’t notice any of it as he stood in the doorway to his cottage. His eyes were staring single mindedly at the trail leading into the woods waiting for his husband to appear.

It was dangerous enough travelling through the woods on a cloudy and overcast day. It was deadly to traverse them at night. A nest of vampires had made their home in the woods and regularly made meals out of any traveler unlucky enough to find themselves in the woods after dark. That was the fate that had befallen Tony’s parents.

Howard was an inventor and had been convinced that he had created a weapon that would repel vampires to the point that it would be safe to travel through the woods at night. Determined to prove himself, Howard had taken Maria and the weapon and set off into the woods at night with the intention of reaching the larger village on the other side. Neither of them were ever seen again.

Tony knew that Bucky was nothing like his father but that didn’t stop worry from taking root in Tony’s chest until his husband was back with him safe and sound. The trip through the woods between their town and the village was two hours on horseback. If he couldn’t set out soon enough to make it home safely Bucky would spend the night at the inn that the village was large enough to boast. It wouldn’t be the first time Bucky would have been forced to spend the night there due to not having enough time to make it home. This didn’t make Tony feel any better, the uncertainty clawing away at his insides.

Tony hadn’t been able to travel with Bucky, needing to stay home to finish the order of silver tipped arrows that Clint had placed to use against the vampires that threatened their town. The crossbow and arrows were currently laying on the dining table just waiting to be delivered to the archer the next day while Tony now waited for his husband.

Just as the sunset was beginning to fade Tony spotted movement through the trees. Despite the surge of hope Tony remained cautious. It wouldn’t be the first time a newly turned vampire risked being burned by the dying sun for a quick meal. Moments later as the figure came closer Tony was able to clearly make out the form of Bucky riding astride Jarvis as they slowly made their way out of the woods and towards the cottage.

Letting out a gasp of relief Tony all but threw himself out of the doorway and ran to his approaching husband. The closer Tony got though the more he felt a twinge of worry come back. Bucky, who had been clean cut and presentable when he had left this morning, now looked like he had just come from pulling Steve’s ass out of a bar fight.

“Bucky!” Tony shouted as he reached his husband and saw first hand just how bad he looked. His hair was in disarray and his clothes were torn. He was covered in cuts and scrapes, a few of which were still bleeding but most worrying was the congealed blood on his clothes that obviously hadn’t come from him.

“What happened?” Tony demanded.

“I’m okay,” Bucky said wearily as he dismounted from the horse with a stumbled.

Tony immediately reached out to steady him, a frown marring his face. “I’ll be the judge of that I think. Now tell me what happened.”

Bucky winced as he and Tony shuffled along to get Jarvis into the stable and unsaddled. “There was a vampire in the woods that thought he could make a meal out of me. Used that thick grove of oaks as a hiding place to avoid the sun. Jumped on me as I rode past. Messy fight, Jarvis nearly threw a shoe so that needs to be checked before he gets ridden again. Don’t worry Doll,” Bucky said as he reassuringly patted the arm Tony had around him. “He never stood a chance. Not with the blade you made me.”

Tony cast a glance down at the machete hooked into Bucky’s belt. It was made out of iron with silver mixed through. The iron gave it strength while the silver acted as a vampire repellent, being one of the few things that could actually hurt the creatures. It was one of Tony’s finest works and he was glad that it had kept his husband safe to be able to come back to him. Tony wasn’t sure what he would do if he lost Bucky.

Blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall Tony forced himself to focus on what needed to be done in the moment. “Can you make it into the house on your own?” Tony asked. “Someone needs to take care of Jarvis for the night and you need a bath to wash off all of that mess. I think the clothes might be a lost cause though.”

Bucky nodded as he shuffled over to stable door. “Yeah, better to just burn them. You never want to take a chance with vampire blood. Nasty stuff.”

Tony watched with a fixed gaze until he saw Bucky enter the house before going about getting Jarvis settled in for the night. As much as he’d like to just ignore the horse and check on his husband right now he couldn’t do that to Jarvis. The horse had always been a faithful companion to him and deserved better treatment than being left without care for the night. That didn’t mean that Tony didn’t make the brushing down and pouring of new hay and oats respectively as fast as he could. He even treated Jarvis to an apple as thanks for bringing Bucky home safe and as an apology for not seeing to the shoe until tomorrow.

Hurrying into the house Tony found Bucky already filling their tub with water right from the sink’s pump without letting it heat by the fire. Shaking his head at his husband’s foolishness Tony merely set about gathering up the soap and healing herbs and salves that Steve had made for them and setting them down on the table next to the arrows that he had made for Clint. With all the fights that Steve could find himself in he certainly had enough practice making some of the best healing salves in the town.

“I know I said you needed a bath and we do need to clean your wounds but there is time to heat the water up first,” Tony said as Bucky climbed straight into the tub and set about rinsing himself down.

“I know,” Bucky conceded as he scooped handful after handful of cold water over his head and down his body. “Just feeling a bit warm right now and thought some cold water might help cool me off. You know how a good fight and a good fuck can get my blood all heated.”

Tony rolled his eyes at his husband’s flirting. They had been married four years now and Bucky was just as big of a flirt with him now as he was when they were first dating. If nothing else told him at his husband was fine than that absolutely did it.

“Yes well if we don’t get you all patched up a good fight is all you’ll be getting today,” Tony said matter of factly thought the sparkle in his eyes told a completely different story.

“Aww don’t be like that Doll,” Bucky cooed as he held still for Tony to clean off and then bandage the parts that he couldn’t reach on his own. “You know how much I love you. Can’t expect a fella to keep his hands to himself when he’s married to the most handsome man in town now can you?”

“I can if the alternative is for that fella to get an infection and wind up on bed rest. You know just how cranky you get when you aren’t allowed out of bed. You’ve even managed to put Steve to shame a time or two with your whining,” Tony groused as his fingers trailed over some of the deeper cuts that had been exposed during the fight.

Tony ran his fingers over a couple of the cuts a few times. He knew he hadn’t gotten a good look at them out in the stables but some of the cuts looked like they had already begun to heal and close up as though they had happened a day or two ago. Bucky caught Tony’s fingers and brought them up to his lips to kiss gently drawing Tony’s attention away from the wounds. Bucky’s lips were cool to Tony’s touch which surprised him given that Bucky had just been complaining about being too warm. Tony just chalked it up to the cold water that Bucky was currently sitting in and turned his attention towards getting his husband dry and warmed up before they added sickness on top of everything else.

“Come on,” Tony urged, standing up and reaching for the towels nearby. “Out of the water before you catch a cold and really start whining about not feeling well.”

Following Tony’s directions Bucky climbed out of the tub and dried himself off while Tony set about emptying the water so they wouldn’t need to worry about it in the morning. Once the water was drained and Bucky was dry Tony urged his husband up the stairs and into bed. It was well past dark by this point and the candle light was playing tricks on Tony’s eyes making Bucky look more pallid than normal. They both just needed a good night’s sleep and things would be better in the morning.

Hours past with them tangled in each other’s arms until Tony began twitching awake. The sound of Bucky’s breathing rattling in his chest was enough to pull Tony from his sleep to figure out what was wrong with his husband. Turning over in bed Tony placed a hand against Bucky’s forehead to check for a fever from a possible infection from his wounds and was shocked to find his husband was almost cold to the touch. Normally Bucky was like a human furnace and to feel him this cold was truly alarming especially given the currently mild weather and no discernible reason for the lack of body heat.

“Bucky,” Tony hissed as he shook his husband’s shoulder to wake him. “Bucky, Sweetheart, I need you to wake up for me. Come on. Something’s not right.”

“Huh? Wa’s wrong Doll?” Bucky slurred, his eyes cracking open in the dark.

With Bucky waking up Tony leaned over the side of the bed to light a candle. When he brought the candle around to take a closer look at Bucky to see just how bad things were and if they needed to call for a doctor Tony nearly dropped the candle in shock.

Laying on his side of the bed, Bucky was a pale that Tony had never seen him even at his sickest. The pulse beating at his neck was slow and labored almost to the point of being nonexistent. The most frighteningly shocking thing to Tony however were Bucky’s eyes which now shown a deep red.

“No,” Tony breathed out in horror as he scooted to the edge of the bed in instinctive fear. “No. This can’t be happening.”

“What’s wrong Doll?” Bucky asked as he stood up from the bed with much more grace then he should be able to given the fight he was in yesterday. “Talk to me.”

Tony shook his head in disbelief as though that would somehow turn this all into some kind of bad dream. “You’re turning,” he said barely above a whisper as he too got out of the bed, putting the large piece of furniture between the two of them.

“No. I’m fine,” Bucky insisted. “There’s nothing wrong. It’s just me Tony. Don’t you know your own husband?”

Tony’s heart clenched in his chest as Bucky’s words cut into him. This was not supposed to be happening. Stories of loved ones being turned into vampires happened to other people, not to them. This couldn’t be happening to them and yet, somehow, it was.

“You got some of the vampire’s blood into one of your cuts during the fight,” Tony reasoned out, tears prickling in his eyes. “It’s been turning you since before you even got home. Soon you won’t be you anymore. You’ll be one of them. You won’t even know me. You’ll come after me too. There’s no stopping it.”

That was true. Everyone knew what happened if someone got turned. Vampires were loyal to their nests but they had no care for the human life they had left behind. Husbands had killed wives and parents had killed children with no thought or remorse after they had been turned into vampires.

“It’ll be fine Doll,” Bucky pleaded, his eyes flicking between Tony’s face and his neck. “It’ll all be fine. You know I’d never hurt you.”

Tony shook his head in denial, edging back towards the bedroom door. “You won’t be you anymore. You won’t know me. You won’t be able to stop yourself.”

Bucky took a step closer for every step Tony took back, keeping pace with him even as Tony left the bedroom. When Bucky unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation Tony couldn’t help but notice the way his teeth were already changing to become more elongated and sharper, making it easier to tear into a neck to get to the major arteries and drink down the blood that sustained a vampire and pushed away the final end for the horrific creatures.

That brief glimpse as to how it would all end for him if he let Bucky get him was enough to push Tony into the panic that he had been trying to hold off. Adrenaline pumping through him sent him racing down the stairs to the main area of the cottage where Clint’s crossbow was still laid out on the table.

Tony dove at the table, dropping the candle and grabbing up the crossbow to spin around just as Bucky hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs behind him.

“Stop!” Tony shouted as he held the crossbow up in front of him pointed directly at Bucky’s heart.

His hands trembled, the bow shaking in the air as he fought to hold it steady against his fear. The absolute heartbreak and revulsion of pointing the weapon at his husband warred with the instinct for survival against a creature that would have no qualms in killing him without thought. Tony wasn’t sure which would win and even less sure about which he wanted to win. Everything was just happening so fast. Too fast. No time to think.

“This won’t hurt a bit I promise,” Bucky said as he lunged forward.

Tony’s eyes closed in fear and despair as he pulled the trigger.


End file.
